Clothes rack or dryer



Jan. 22, 1957 F. w. BARKER 2,778,705

' CLOTHES RACK OR DRYER Filed April 28, 1954 E y- 10 3 1 .2 10d 10b 15 14 INVENTOR fledem'ck W Barker ATTORNEY$ U t d St t s Pa 2,778,705 I CLOTHES" RACK OR DRYER Frederick W. Barker, PoundRidge, N. Y. Application April 28, 1954, Serial No. 426,202 4 Claims. (Cl. 312-313) The present invention reflates to a clothes rack or dryer and particularly to one which may be collapsed into a cabinet or extended into a drying or clothes-supporting position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes rack which is simple of construction, easy to operate and reliable and rigid in use.

This is accomplished by providing a cabinet and mounting in the cabinet a dryer frame of I construction having suitable clothes-supporting means thereon to swing from a retracted to an extended position and by supporting the frame in extended position by a rigid supporting member which is easily and automatically moved into position as a result of moving the frame to extended position and secured in said position when in use.

A feature of the invention resides in the fact that the I frame can be formed of tubular material and also that end-receiving sockets carried by the cabinet are provided for receiving the ends of one of the cross members of the I for mounting the frame in the cabinet for pivotal movement between retracted and extended position.

The dryer device of the present invention can be readily made of any size as required and can be mounted on interior walls to project into a room or on the exterior wall of a house to project outwardly therefrom. The cabinet in each case will protect the dryer or rack in its closed position and keep it clean and ready for use.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a cabinet in closed position.

Fig. 2 shows a cabinet with the door opened and the dryer in retracted position.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinatl sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the door open and the rack in projected position.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the rack in projected position.

Fig. 6 is a detail of the latch means for holding the rack in extended position.

In the illustrated form of the invention a rack 10 is located in a cabinet 11 and adapted to be secured in an opening 12 in a wall 13 and having a door 14 to close the same. The rack is in the form of an I frame having a stem 10a and crosspieces 10b, 10c and is preferably made of tubular material to provide a strong, lightweight construction. If desired, bracing plates 10d, such as shown in Fig. 2, may be provided between the stem 10a and one or more of the crosspieces 10b, 10c to steady the frame under load.

While the frame canbe mounted on the cabinet for pivotal movement in many different ways, it is presently preferred to mount the ends of the crosspiece 10b in tubular sockets 15 secured to the side walls of the cabinet as shown so that it can be swung upwardly from the retracted position shown in Fig. 3 to the projected position of Fig. 4. According to the present invention, a

2,778,705 Patented Jan. 22, 1957 simple and rigid means is provided for holding the frame in projected position. This comprises a rigid supporting bar 16 having one end pivotally mounted to a bracket 17 .secured to the back of the cabinet and the other end pivoted to a sleeve or slide 18 mounted to slide along the stem 10a of the I as the frame is moved between the retracted and projected position.

Readily releasable means are provided for locking the slide in the position shown in Fig. 4 to hold the rack in projected position. One such means is illustrated in Fig. 6 and comprises a latch member 19 mounted on the sleeve 18"and having a nosepi'ece 20 normally urged by a spring 21 to project through an opening 22 in the sleeve and into engagement with the outer surface of the stem so as to automatically project into an opening 23 in the stem when the frame is moved to extended or projecting position and acts to hold the frame in that position until released by pressing the fingerpiece 24 on the latch member to withdraw the member from the hole or opening 23 whereupon the frame can be returned to retracted position.

Suitable clothes-supporting means may be extended between the two ends of the I, as shown. This comprises a continuous flexible member 25 of metal or other suitable clothesline material which is adapted to extend back and forth between the end members to provide spaced supporting elements for the clothes.

The device, because of its simplicity, can be made in varying sizes, as required, and can be easily and readily installed. It will be noted that it can be folded into its retracted position or extended to its projected position with great facility, and is automatically locked in projected position wherein it is supported by a rigid supporting member.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A clothes rack or dryer comprising a cabinet; an I frame in the cabinet and having one end pivotally connected to the cabinet whereby said frame can be swung outwardly to project from the cabinet; a rigid supporting bar having one end pivotally connected to the cabinet and the other end connected to a slide slidable on the stem of the I; releasable means locking the slide to the stem when the frame is in projecting position; and clothessupporting means connected to and extending between the ends of the I frame.

2. A clothes rack or dryer comprising a cabinet; an I frame in the cabinet and having one end pivotally connected to the cabinet whereby said frame can be swung outwardly to project from the cabinet; a rigid supporting bar having one end pivotally connected to the cabinet and the other end connected to a slide slidable on the stem of the I; releasable spring-pressed latch means on the slide adapted to project into an aperture in the stem when the frame is in projecting position to hold the frame in said position; and clothes-supporting means connected to and extending between the ends of the I frame.

3. A clothes rack or dryer comprising a cabinet having a door; an I frame of tubular material in the cabinet and having the ends of one of the crossbars pivotally mounted in sockets connected to the cabinet whereby said frame can be swung outwardly to project from the cabinet when the door is opened; a rigid supporting bar having one end pivotally connected to the cabinet and the other end connected to a slide slidable on the stem of the I; releasable means locking the slide to the stem when the frame is in projecting position; and clothes-supporting means connected to and extending between the ends of the I frame.

4. A concealable clothes rack or dryer comprising a cabinet, a rack including a pair of spaced crossbars having disposed therebetween intermediate the ends thereof a connecting stern to-form an I frame, one of said crossbars being pivotally mounted adjacent the upper end of said cabinet so that said rack is adapted to be pivoted between a stowed, inoperative position and extended operative position, means for rigidly and releasably locking said rack in operative position, said means including a sliding latch means slidably mounted on said stern and a supporting bar for rigidly supporting said rack in operative position, said bar having its outer ends pivotalfly mounted to said cabinet and pivotally connected to said sliding latch means so that said supporting bar positions said releasable latch between operative and inoperative positions along said stem, and a continuous flexible clothes-supporting means extending back and forth in spaced relationship between the crossbars of said rack.

198,049 Schater Dec. 11, 1877 871,530 Speer Nov. 19, 1907 873,440 Kerr Dec. 10, 1907 929,566 Dannheiser July 27, 1909 1,175,817 Robertson Mar. 14, 1916 1,724,218 Nixon Aug. 13, 1929 2,047,711 Siers July 14, 1936 

